What is a fair price for a used coach???

[Jeff]

Gary hit the nail on the head. The only price that counts is the one a buyer is willing to offer and a seller accept.

 

[BernieD]

Jeff

Congratulations, I always had the Tradewinds as one my favorites, right after the TS  ;D

 

[cdat]

cdat- I guess you were in the Armor branch of the Army ???

When you going to go get your new MH??

Why yes I was, you're the first person to have know what the "cdat" stood for.  Our new M/H, we already have a contract to purchase it, it's a little convoluted so I'll try to explain how ours is working.  We met a German couple who spend 6 months in the US each year staying in 2 different area of the Western US.  Their coach is a 2008 CC Magna 630 Rembrandt that they had custom built.  The coach currently has 28k miles on it, and the 08 Jeep GC Overland w/ V8 has 30k.  We have a contract to buy both at the end of 2013 for 225K, which will be about 100k below NADA "low retail".  There are some stipulations in the contract regarding mileage, condition etc, the coach is all electric and has all the options one could ask for, they paid 750k new.  While I hate waiting 18 months, my wife does not retire until Aug of 2013, so both will coincide pretty close to the date we had planned on starting to go full time.  Like I said, the wait is killing me, but the deal was to good to pass up, and will certainly be worth it at the end.
Thanks for serving
John

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Sounds like a heck of a deal on a top of the line, 45 foot coach & toad.  Congratulations (in advance)!

 

[ChiefM]

28 years and still serving, In Kosovo right now doing a peace keeping mission. I was an M60 mechanic and then an M1 mechanic many moons ago. Went Warrant 12 years ago and it was the best move I ever made. Should make CW4 next year.  cdat , been a while since I heard that one.  The coach and toad sound like a great deal. Congrats on the retirement, I am going to hang out a few more years and pad the retirement.

 

[cdat]

Chief, hadn't planned on retiring for a few more years, but got a bit banged up, so ended up with a medical discharge.  Congrats on the upcoming promotion, be safe.
John

 

[detectivedrew]

Unfortunately I have learned that buying into a hobby and or lifestyle while wearing blinders will come back to bite you.  I am glad I learned one of life's lessons PRIOR to my first RV purchase.  Your approach appears to be conservative and prudent.  Jeff provides succinct advice:

"Impatience, letting emotion affect your decision, and not doing the research are probably the biggest obstacles to finding the right RV."

Happy hunting.

 

[eddieelk]

Hi, Garyb1st. Thank you and all of the other Military on the forum for protecting those of us at home.  It is a buyers market out there, but a lot of sellers don't realize it, because they take NADA to seriously. Until last week, I had 3 motorthomes. I gave the '78 Mobile Traveler, which had sat in storage for 10 years, to my daughter. I charged the battery, rebuilt the 2 barrel, an drove it 200 miles to the Arkansas border. She met me & drove it to Mississippi. It threw the water pump belt, which she had to put back on. She was in the Motorpool at Ft. Riley in the late 70's, so she knows what to do. Now I have an '87 & '99 Pace Arrow. I paid $15,680 on the '99 w/9020 miles last August. Have put on 4,000 more w/o problems. Also have a buyer for the '87. The reason for my MH history is that there are sellers out there that are making large monthly payments on toys they don't use & can't afford, and are willing to sell for the loan balance.  My seller on the '99 was paying $750 a month, and hadn't used it for 9 years. So keep looking, and keep  us posted.  Thanks Again for your service.  Eddie Elk.

 

[99WinAdventurer37G]

Well, I too have been looking for quite some time.  I was looking at private sellers and most of the time they were asking way more than NADA low retail with many problems.  Many say "new tires" but the DOT stamp says the tire was made in 2006.  It may look new, but a 6 year old tire needs to be replaced soon. I was going to buy one unit that the tires needed to be replaced due to age, and the roof needed to be sealed.  It was kept under a cover, but without the cover, he would have had water damage.  I looked at another one, that is still available as of 20:00 tonight down in Houston $5,000 below low NADA value, but the fuel gauge is broken, and the ignition needs to be replaced, then what else will I find?  That's a lot of what I was finding with private parties here in Texas. 

So I decided to look at dealers, and found at least here in the Dallas, FTW area, they stick pretty close to NADA.  The unit I found was so nice, it would have been worth the average retail price they had it marked.  With just a little haggling they got it to $1100 over low retail without adding any of all the extra options it has, like every window has awnings, etc. and several thousand below high NADA value.  When I add back in those things that are not listed as standard equipment it is actually below NADA low retail.  When it's said, "don't fall in love with anything", I agree to a point, but I think one knows when they find the "right" unit for the "right" price.  If I had not been looking for a specific brand/model for about a year, and had a good idea of what others wanted for as is units, I may not have acted so quickly on this unit.  But the roof looked amazing, best roof actually I've had the pleasure of walking on, the condition of the paint makes me think it had to have been painted to stay looking that good for a 1999.  Not only does everything I looked at work, but the dealership said the way they work, it will be prepped for pick up on Tuesday, then they will take about two hours showing me everything working and how it works, from filling the tanks, emptying the tanks, running it down the road, etc.. The only thing that won't get checked is the satellite antenna.  Then if I'm satisfied with the unit, they get the check, I get the unit.  No warranty on a 1999, but it will all work before I leave.  So you may include dealers in your search, I did not find any pressure what so ever.  In fact, many of them just give you a golf cart tell you to look around, they'll be inside if you have any questions.  Of course it has been over 100 degrees here for a few days.

 

[Scott-0168]

I've been shopping too. Some of the prices I've seen for a 5 or 6 year old gas coach, you might as well buy a new 2012!

Scott 

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

A couple people have offered their rig for sale in this thread, but that is not allowed. Please post any For Sale offers in the For Sale/Wanted section. They are not allowed anywhere else in the forum. One such message was already moved from this thread to the For Sale section and another was deleted.

 

[Tom]

Thanks Gary.

 

[173dave]

I wasn't really trying to sell my motor home. It's just been a long day for me. Sorry 

 

[99WinAdventurer37G]

I've been shopping too. Some of the prices I've seen for a 5 or 6 year old gas coach, you might as well buy a new 2012!

Scott 

Yes, if you want a new one, they take an automatic 25% off at http://www.mhsrv.com/

The prices on the used ones are pretty fair, it's not where I bought mine, but they were very nice, no pressure type of atmosphere.  I bought mine at another dealer that just deals in used RV's; http://www.kennedalecampersales.com/ They marked through it but it's still listed on their site, I got about $1,500 off their asking price.  The pictures they show in my experience were all actual pictures.  Most of the private party units I looked at used pictures from when they bought it.  I pick mine up Tuesday, they were real nice as well, I didn't get it as low as I wanted, and they didn't get what they were asking, that's just good Texas dealing.

 

[Ramzfan]

I just purchased a 2006 Itasca Meridian 36G. I had seen this coach on Ebay for about two months and it was EXACTLY what I had been looking for. The trouble was, they wanted much more than I was willing to pay. It didn't sell, so they put it back on twice. I stayed in contact with them even after they found a buyer. He couldn't come up with the financing and I had the cash. To make a long story short, I got it for the price I was willing to pay. I'm a big believer in "if it's meant to be, do all you can and it will be!"

 

[topdownman]

God is truly watching over me.  I always try to buy under NADA or at least wholesale.  It usually works for me.  We bought our last coach (2007 Sportscoach Pathfinder) from a dealer in upstate New York.  It's a 40 foot DP.  They were firm on their "sale" price of $79,900.  The NADA retail on the unit was almost $115,000.  There were a few issues.  It had sat for a long time (only had 2700 miles on the clock).  I have had to replace some rusted clamps on the radiator hoses and a roof AC.  It will need tires next year.  Still, I feel like I saved a TON of money and we love the coach.  So far we've put almost 4000 miles on it and other than the normal things that go wrong with any unit, it's a good one.

So, shop shop shop.  They ARE out there.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

A basic rule of purchase negotiations is that "money talks". If you have the money in hand - or at least a sterling credit report plus the down payment - you command a lot of attention from the seller.  Especially after the seller has had a few failed attempts.

 

[garyb1st]

Topdownman, you paid wholesale to a dealer.  How did you pull that off? 

 

[zmotorsports]

Gary,

I pretty much subscribe to Tom's theory about fantasy prices and believe you just have to do your homework. Compare prices, sizes, and features, from many sources, and then decide which things you have to have and what your price points are. You are the one who has to like it, not your neighbors, so pay what you want and make sure you are happy.

Tom makes an excellent point about not spending your last dime just getting into a used coach. There are so many nickle and dime (and dollar) things you need to prepare for that if you exhaust your budget on the front end, you will have to postpone needed repairs or replacements in the first few months.

Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder (and so is fair price and value).

Kim, is that a new coach in your avatar and signature? 

When did that happen?  Details?

Mike.

 

[zmotorsports]

My response to the original question is NADA is a good guideline, like others have already mentioned it is not gospel or written in stone.  I have found that "usually", and I use that term loosely, a four-five year old coach will be somewhere around 1/2 of the MSRP when new.  I have seen this enough to say a descent starting point.

Anything whether coach, car or truck is only "worth" what someone will pay for it, regardless of what NADA, Craigslist or anywhere else on the internet say.  I also recommend NOT getting emotional when purchasing something.  Weigh out the pros and cons as well as the financials and then make a decision.  Whenever emotions get into the mix they merely muddy the water.

That said, I absolutley despise bottom feeders who try to low-ball an already good descent price just so they can feel like they got the "deal of the century".  It what you are looking at is what you want, good condition and within your price range keep some dignity as well as respect for the person selling and make a very reasonable offer.

I am sure I have paid more than what I "could" have gotten things for but I have noticed the attention to detail and that the person really took good care of whatever they were selling.  Nothing bothers me more than when I am trying to sell something and the prospective buyer can obviously see all that has been done to set what I am selling apart and then compares it to some similar make/model but run down POS and says he can buy that one for $xxx dollars.  I recently told a guy to go buy that one then.  He told me that mine was in much better shape, I responded by telling him that is why it is $xxx dollars vs. the lower price.

Condition and maintenance (or lack thereof) pay huge dividends in buying used.  For the most part I feel people are fairly honest about selling things but for those that are not you can generally see through their BS.

Mike.